Filamentous microorganisms are one of the workhorses for industrial microbiology, as they are used for the commercial production of many different therapeutics (e.g. penicillin and cephalosporin), commodity chemicals (e.g. citric acid) and commercial enzymes (e.g. proteases and amylases).
It has been known for decades that fermentations of filamentous microorganisms present unique engineering challenges. Specifically, the mycelial morphology of filamentous microorganisms often leads to high viscosities which reduce the ability to agitate, pump, and supply oxygen to these broths.
Despite extensive study, there has been relatively little success in altering the morphology to reduce broth viscosity in industrial-scale systems. In fact, the most common approaches to reduce the broth viscosity have been to add water to dilute the broth or to increase agitation to fragment the mycelia. Neither of these methods has proven to be consistently effective.